Not applicable.
The present invention relates to playground equipment in general, and to climbing accessories for play structures in particular.
Energetic outdoors activities have always enthralled children, and recent parental attitudes towards physical fitness and exercise have contributed to an increased attention to the need to provide children with recurring opportunities for routine moderate physical exertion. With only a small fraction of the nation""s children being raised in farm households, most families cannot rely solely on the benefits of rural activities requiring a great deal of space. Restrictive parental schedules and security concerns have also contributed to a need to keep the children close to home for their play activities.
Outdoors play structures economically and effectively address children""s exercise needs in the context of play. While once built primarily of steel tubing, many residential play structures are now constructed of treated timbers. These structures can readily be constructed by a hobbyist or craftsman of moderate skill, and the variety of connection systems available make possible a wide range of play structure configurations. Slides, ladders, ropes and rope bridges, tunnels, and balance beams are available for convenient connection to a wooden play structure.
In addition to contributing to physical fitness, play activities also build important mental skills, especially those involving imagination, creative thinking, teamwork and leadership. Play structures which challenge a child""s imagination and spark creative play are especially desirable.
Climbing walls of plaster, concrete, or stone have long been used by mountaineers and spelunkers to test their climbing skills and to challenge their stamina and grip strength in a controlled environment. Although such highly vertical walls would be appealing to small children, they are costly and require the use of safety lines, carabineers, and other mechanical equipment not suitable for those of a young age group. Conventional climbing walls, moreover, are typically constructed on site, and hence require a level of skill and cost not readily available to the homeowner.
What is needed is an economical play structure accessory which simulates a rock wall in a manner which is both intriguing and accessible to children, and which can be mass produced for shipping.
The play structure climbing wall of this invention is economically produced by the single sheet thermoforming process. To facilitate shipping, the wall is formed in multiple elongated segments which are bolted together when attached to the wooden play structure. The climbing wall is tilted at about a forty-eight degree angle against the play structure, and is fastened by a flange to an elevated deck which is accessible through a wood framed inlet. The climbing wall is staked to the ground, and narrows from a wide ground-engaging base, to a narrower summit, which is immediately adjacent the framed inlet. The climbing wall is formed with a number of rock-simulative ledges, which progress from the base to the summit. Each molded ledge preferably has a child-graspable hand grip integrally molded in the riser. The top surfaces of the step-like ledges form treads which are inclined from the horizontal to direct the child""s foot inward toward the climbing wall rather than away from the wall and off the structure. To contribute to the rock-simulative visual effect of the thermoformed plastic assembly, polyethylene is extruded with a pattern of streaks or striations which, when molded, simulate the color variations of naturally occurring rock formations. The climbing wall has two side-by-side upper segments which can be mounted to a play structure with a low deck. For taller decks, a single base segment is mounted below the two upper segments. The three segment assembly is shaped generally like a truncated right triangle, with the hypotenuse of the triangle providing both a climbing surface, and a means for directing climbing children to the inlet.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a climbing wall for a play structure which can be manufactured economically.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a climbing wall for a play structure which can be shipped knocked down in a size less than the final assembly size.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a climbing wall for a play structure which has visible surface markings which simulate natural patterns.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a climbing wall for a play structure which can be attached to a play structure in place of a slide.
It yet another object of the present invention to provide a climbing wall for a play structure which tends to direct climbers toward the wall rather than away from it.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a climbing wall for a play structure which directs climbing children to an appropriate entrance at an elevated level on the play structure.